Wow! This is a public domain film. It was once a saturation explotation film that moved in and out of an area over a single weekend of matinees.
"This Weekend Only!" meant see it before word gets out. There was a lot of local TV ads on kiddie shows.
I've seen DVD's of this film for a quarter
What is the "amazing preshow"?
AllenD

Please go to the website for the film and watch the trailer.
There are over 160 theatres booked with the program. The pre-show is 45 minutes
and is worth the price of admission!
This cinematic Christmas stocking is loaded with retro-cool presents of all kinds. There are two cartoons from the brilliant Fleischer Brothers—"Christmas Comes But Once A Year" (1936), and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1948)—plus time warps from the 1950s and 1960s, ranging from a Christmas adventure starring Howdy Doody to a couple of visits with Ozzie and Harriet to a holiday salute from ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her hand puppet Lambchop. But the biggest, most brightly-wrapped gift under this colorful Christmas tree is a new digital restoration of the unforgettable 1964 B-movie Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, best known as the screen debut of actress/singer Pia Zadora. Martians come to Earth to kidnap Santa Claus because there is no one on Mars to give their children presents. Earth kids Billy and Betty set out to save Santa and return him to Earth. The film is a baffling mixture of sci-fi, Christmas cheer and childish slapstick, all filmed in garish (or as the poster says, "Space-Blazing") color. See all this, a bouncing ball "Jingle Bells" sing-along and much more, mastered from the best surviving prints!
Official Web Site: santamartiansmovie.com

I love "Golden Turkey" type movies and I've shown plenty of them. Public domain movies also deserve to be seen on the big screen. (One of my favorites: Eegah!, a lovable turkey and a public domain film. )
I still find this program odd. A bizarre feature film with the addition of a couple of classic cartoons (one of which was really an advertising film from Jam Handy). I'm baffled by segments from public domain TV shows.
I hope you let us know how this program works!
AllenD

If its public domain why do you have to book it. Why cant you just project a DVD copy from the store and collect all the profits for yourself!
Isnt that what they do for Night of The Living Dead around Halloween?

If its public domain why do you have to book it. Why cant you just project a DVD copy from the store and collect all the profits for yourself!

Yes you could, but then all you would have is the feature, not the entire package. The 45 minutes of preshow is what makes it special. The 2 cartoons, the sing-a-long, the short skits and appearances by Ozzie and Harriet, Howdy Doody, Shari and Lambchop along with oldtime theare holiday messages etc. It's been all put together as a special program billed as Santas Holiday Film Festival.

If you were to just play Santa Conquers the Martians by itself it would have no chance of doing any business. It's the package that will sell it. I'm not selling it to the kids, I'm selling it to the grandparents as something to bring the grandkids to.

Will it go over, I don't know, but how can I go wrong? It's just 2 matinee showings at 35%, and I'm charging $3.00. If it doesn't do well, there is so little to lose, and it just might catch a nostalgic vein and bring in some extra income during what is normally a very slow time.

Well whoever booked this is smart and made a wise decision. This is big its playing everywhere and all the nostalgic buffs will come out. I overlooked the pre show which seems really cool.
There is a theatre about an hour away from me that I am going to trek out and catch this.
It should be billed as the holiday event of 2011. This brings back memories of the 50 and 50's were showmanship was a key to getting people off the streets to watch the big screen.
This could be the begining of something new and traditioanl that could carry over throughout the year with other events if it catches on!